The Engineer's Wife was a fascinating tale of a woman who wants to have her own independence in an age where women were looked down upon for wanting more than just a husband, kids, and housekeeping. Emily Warren Roebling was part of a group of women who were ahead of their time. She always felt like an outcast because it wasn't always her dream to have a family, she wanted a career, she wanted to have fun, she marched to a different drum. What she didn't realize until later on in her life is that there were so many in her own family and friend circle that wanted the same thing. When Emily marries Wash she has to tamp down her independence a bit to fit into the world he expected although he didn't demand she be the "little woman who cooked" she still needed to blend in more than she wanted to. When Wash and his father finally start on their dream of building a bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn, also known as the Brooklyn bridge little did Emily know that she would be the one to accomplish what none of her men folks could accomplish- She takes over as the "acting" chief engineer after her father-in-law dies and Wash ends up with the "bends".

Emily is helped in this story to paver her own way by her mother, her best friend, and her mother's circle of influence and an unusual friend, Phineas Taylor Barnum of Curiosity Showman, Businessman, and Circus fame.

Tracey Enerson Wood does a fantastic job of writing Emily's story with humor, heartache, strength, and skill. Although, this is a historical fiction story and yes, Emily Roebling did take charge of the engineering of the Brooklyn Bridge my favorite parts of this story weren't exactly part of her real story and that is what makes this book fun! The combination of real people blended into real history and not knowing what is true and what is fiction is part of the appeal. I had to Google so many things to see (without going to the back of the book) if I could find anything on some connections that I really wish was true.
Ms. Wood does tell you what is what after you read the book, but I am fond of history and mystery and so I went searching without realizing it was all within my two hands already. And, yet, this lead me to so many interesting reads that expanded my knowledge of the Roebling and NY history. As a NY'er by birth, I find the map of the ever-changing Manhattan skyline intriguing, I loved reading about where certain buildings where and where they were rebuilt. For Instance Madison Square Garden so many sites, with so many different reasons for the venue.

I give The Engineer's Wife 4.5 stars for the romance, the growth of the characters, and just a purely great story. I was inspired, saddened, and all-around entertained by the largeness of some of the characters. Emily Warren Roebling is one woman who should be talked about more and I am glad that this book was released during the 100-year celebration of the 19th Amendment and A Women's Right to Vote.

In May of 1983, my mom, my aunt and I found ourselves in lower Manhattan (NYC) where a large group had gathered. We asked why people were there and they said to watch fireworks. We stayed for what was a spectacular show and only during the pyrotechnics did we learn that the celebration was for the 100th birthday of the Brooklyn Bridge. We absolutely didn't learn that night the details of all that went into creating and building the phenomenal structure, much less that we have Emily Warren Roebling to thank. This I was very happy to learn from Tracey Enerson Wood's "The Engineer's Wife." In the book, the author shares with us readers a well-researched phenomenal piece of American history and the pivotal role that an unknown female dynamo plays. Woods storytelling style is a pleasure to read and keeps the pages turning. You know the bridge gets built, but it's the description of the characters and their personifications that guide you from the structure's drawings to bridge crossing.

A very Interesting read. I am a female mechanical engineer, it is nice that I can have that title now without question and see how far we have come and how far we have yet to go.

The Engineer's Wife is the fictionalized telling of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. After Emily Roebling's husband Washington developed caissons disease (or decompression sickness) during the building of the footing for the tower on the Brooklyn side of the bridge, Emily started to take an active role in the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. Since women were not allowed to go to school for engineering she learned everything she could from her husband and his engineering books. Over the next decade Emily spent everyday at the job site helping make decisions and communicating for her incapacitated husband, even going down into the caisson herself to assist with the work that needed to be done. She persevered over the obstacles of faulty cables and men standing in her way and got the bridge built.

This novel goes in the vain of many of the recent historical fiction novels revolving around female leads. This is another one that showcases a real woman who managed to accomplish an amazing feat and should be remembered. It is a story of how smart and courageous women can be while showing parallels to modern life of work versus family. Tracey Enerson Wood wrote a lovely novel that not only entertained but taught me more about one of America's marvels.

The Engineer's Wife, by Tracey Enerson Wood, is a historical fiction set in post Civil War times. It is a. story of love and family and progress. The building of the Brooklyn Bridge and all of the adversities that went along with the feat are presented in an interesting story that moves along quickly. It entertains and educates readers not familiar with the building of the bridge from its conception to its completion. and surprise...there is a strong, independent woman involved!

This is the little known story of the incredible woman who was behind the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Written by Tracey Enerson Wood, we first meet a young Emily Warren Roebling. Shy and newly married to Captain Washington Roebling, she gives up her own aspirations of married life and instead joins in her husbands pursuits; Bridge Building.
This is Herstory. Although parts are fictionalized, we do however get to meet the real Emily, and what a dynamo she was- a pioneer for women on so many levels.
Her original role in the industry of bridge building was supposed to involve simple things; receptions, dinner parties, meetings, and oh by the way, can you raise the 7 million dollars we need to construct this bridge?
However, Emily becomes a woman truly ahead of her time, when her husband falls ill and she assumes the title role. It's 1864 and Emily's list of contributions is endless; Engineering, planning, meetings, PR campaigns, fund raising, suffragette and mother. She battles men and prejudices of the times, proving that a woman could do it all eventhough history tries to erase her.
4⭐
Thank you to NetGalley, SourceBooks Landmark and the author, Ms Tracey Enerson Wood for the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy of "The Engineers Wife". The opinions expressed in this review are mine alone.

Loved this book! Not only is this story about Em & Wash building bridges together but with their family but also it shows the toll that building bridges takes on their marriage. They both loose themselves in the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and Wash almost looses his life to the bridge on more than on occasion. Its a history love story twined together with the Brooklyn Bridge. Great read for historical fiction readers.
I recieved an ARC copy through NetGally and these opinions are my own.

Before I read this book, I knew nothing about the Brooklyn Bridge or the construction of it, so this book was super interesting for me and provided such an interesting historical fiction take on the background and construction of this amazing landmark. Now, I’ve never been to New York, but it’s one of my top 10 places I want to visit someday so you know that I will be visiting the Brooklyn Bridge for sure after reading this story. And, in addition to enjoying the historical aspects of this book, I really enjoyed the main character Emily Roebling, who was wife of the chief engineer of the bridge; she was such a smart, determined and hard working woman, definitely someone to be admired. And, as a big fan of the movie The Greatest Showman, I really enjoyed how the author wove PT Barnum into this one – that piece was all fictional but it was rather fun anyway. Another reason I enjoyed this book was that it was based around a time period and events that I hadn’t read about before. As a historical fiction lover I tend to gravitate towards a lot of WWII historical fiction so it’s always refreshing to come across something that gets away from that time period. I really enjoyed this one.

*I received a digital ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my review*

Alright. So I went into this book as someone that enjoys historical fiction. I was interested in this book because before this, I had never read a book that took place during this time period, and I had definitely never read a book about someone that builds bridges. I really thought I was going to enjoy this book, but it has a lot of flaws (at least in my opinion) that ultimately made me not like it very much.

It took me a while to get into this book. As soon as I started reading it, I was doubting how much I was going to enjoy it. I don't like insta-love...and this definitely felt like that. I understand that our main characters, Wash and Emily, fell in love over the course of six months, but their meeting felt really odd to me. They were at this ball, they laid eyes on each other, and next thing ya know, they're dating. The relationship wasn't developed at all for like the first 8 or 10 chapters, and I found that a little annoying and hard to read.

As the story progressed, I did enjoy the feminist aspect of it. While I didn't really care much for the characters overall, I enjoyed Emily's take on things and her willingness to complete the building of the bridge when her husband clearly was unable. One thing that I had issues with was that as their marriage started to fall apart, she did not speak to her husband about her feelings. She was so outspoken in every other aspect of her life, so her not speaking up about the decline of her relationship didn't make much sense to me. I know that this is based on real people, but being that it is fiction, I think this could've been jazzed up a bit more in order to fit the story that was being told.

Going into this book, I had no idea who the Roeblings were, and honestly, it never crossed my mind who built the Brooklyn Bridge. I don't care that much, and if we're being honest, I still don't really care. That being said, I wasn't upset to learn about these people. The book did make me feel like if I had known who these people were in advance, I might have gotten more enjoyment out of the book. I was pleasantly surprised by the appearance of PT Barnum as a character He was one of the only characters I liked -- even though I felt that his character was under-developed.

I thought GK's death was unnecessary, and for it to be Emily's brother that she was so close with, it was breezed over incredibly quickly. It seemed like it had no purpose in the plot. I also thought the whole story around Mr. Stone was just stupid. The idea of him trying to "protect" Emily after being a total ass to her during the entire book made no sense. The part where he tells Emily that he's treated her so badly the whole time because she reminded him of his dead wife (who died by drowning after a bridge collapsed while they were going over it in a train) just seemed like a really cheap and easy way to make his assholeness excusable. I don't think his character added much to the plot, and I found it weird when the mention of her being his surrogate daughter came up.

Also, I know this is a book about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. But my goodness. I just did not care about all the nitty-gritty things that go into the construction of a bridge. I found the big paragraphs that detailed this to be incredibly boring and I skimmed most of them because I couldn't be bothered anymore.

While I clearly had a lot of complaints and won't be rereading this, I don't think it was horrible. I didn't like it, but it wasn't badly written. The characters could have been fleshed out more and the plot could have been more interesting, but if you want to know how a bridge is built, you might like this book. I think I would try reading other books by this author because maybe it was just the topic of this book that I didn't enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adore when authors choose to write their books about women that history has forgotten. The Engineer's Wife is the tale of Emily Warren Roebling, wife of the chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge. The story begins with Emily and Wash's first meeting during the height of the American Civil War and follows the years until the completion of the building of the bridge. Along the way, there are many hardships both marital and with the business. As well, Emily has caught the attention of the seductive P.T Barnum and any whiff of scandal may just send her house of cards tumbling down.


A devotee of the suffrage movement and determined to not live the conventional life so imposed by society, I found Emily to be a very interesting person even if I didn't always agree with her decisions. I shall certainly be looking out for the author's books in the future.






Goodreads review published 16/04/20
Publication Date 07/04/20

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I really had no idea about the history of the Brooklyn Bridge, though I’ve always had questions about bridge building in general. I loved how this book included not only Emily’s role in the construction of the bridge, but also pulled in the other battles women were fighting during this time. .
The book ended with a note from the author detailing which parts were fictional and sharing how the timeline had been adjusted which I really appreciated!
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Title: The Engineer’s Wife
Author: Tracey Enerson Wood
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Emily Warren Roebling refuses to live conventionally―she knows who she is and what she wants, and she’s determined to make change. But then her husband Wash asks the unthinkable: give up her dreams to make his possible.

Emily’s fight for women’s suffrage is put on hold, and her life transformed when Wash, the Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge, is injured on the job. Untrained for the task, but under his guidance, she assumes his role, despite stern resistance and overwhelming obstacles. Lines blur as Wash’s vision becomes her own, and when he is unable to return to the job, Emily is consumed by it. But as the project takes shape under Emily’s direction, she wonders whose legacy she is building―hers, or her husband’s. As the monument rises, Emily’s marriage, principles, and identity threaten to collapse. When the bridge finally stands finished, will she recognize the woman who built it?

Interestingly enough, the big subplot of this novel: the love triangle between Emily, Wash, and PT Barnum isn’t even mentioned in the synopsis. Nor is the women’s suffrage movement, also a significant part of the story. Both of these things gave more depth to the storyline, and PT Barnum was arguably the most interesting character in the novel.

I found Emily herself likable enough, if a bit self-absorbed. She fought a hard battle and that came through clearly, although I felt her strength was overshadowed by her lack of awareness of how her actions affected others. Wash was also self-absorbed, but his willingness to put his own feeling aside in favor of Emily’s wishes was a nice touch of character.

Tracey Enerson Wood has always loved writing. The Engineer’s Wife is her new novel.

(Galley courtesy of Sourcebooks Landmark in exchange for an honest review.)

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy of The Engineer’s wife by Tracy Enerson Wood. Having walked across the Brooklyn Bridge , many times, I can honestly say I never thought of how it was built. The Engineer’s Wife is a beautifully written story about Emily and Washington (Wash) Roebling and their quest to build the bride that would connect Manhattan and Brooklyn. The toll of taking on this huge project, can be seen in their marriage and their family life. With Wash coming down with Caisson Disease, Emily steps you and pushes the project ahead & keeps it running. The stress on their marriage and the stereotypes of a woman’s role in so virtually, made for such a great historical novel. The Engineer’s Wife, is so well written and researched. I felt like I was in Brooklyn during this amazing time in History. This is a five star read for me and I have recommended it many times.

It is shortly after the Civil War, and Emily Warren married Washington "Wash" Roebling. Emily looks forward to fun and adventure, but Wash accepts the position as Chief Engineer on his father's current project, The Brooklyn Bridge. When Wash is injured on the project, he convinces Emily to be his messenger which little by little turns into being manager of the project with no formal education in mathematics or science. This, in turn, leads to changes in both Emily and their marriage.

It's obvious that Wood did a great deal of historical research and her writing flows nicely. Emily's accomplishments with her self taught learning and Wash's assistance were remarkable. She was definitely a woman before her time. But at the same time, her neglect of her husband and her son as she becomes steeped in the project was sad; and some of the choices she made brought problems to her that could have been otherwise avoided.

I encountered a couple of things in the book that prevented me from giving it a higher mark. There were several sexually explicit scenes which I didn't feel were necessary to the story line. I also didn't care for the fictional relationship she created between Emily and P.T. Barnum. I felt like she didn't show Emily as the incredible person she was to accomplish the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge as both a woman of the time period with no formal background in bridge building.

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions are mine alone. I was not compensated for this review.

Got a little over 1/3 of the way through before my ARC expired. Mrs. Roebling is a fascinating woman and deserves to be brought into the lime light a bit more than she has in the past, even if it is in a fictional way (though highly based on historical facts fiction). I was enthralled with her in a history of the entire family and the bridge I read. She was a remarkable woman ahead of the times. I was getting to the place in their family history when I knew she was going to be dealing with some hard stuff and didn't have the emotional energy to see her through that so I'm quitting for now but would definitely consider picking it up again in the future.

Notes on content [based on the ARC thus far]: No language issues I remember. It is mentioned that a husband and wife engage in sexual activity but not shown. Some heavy kissing on page. Some injuries men suffer during the construction of the bridge are related.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"I wanted both worlds and to show that women could do all . But maybe we had to choose a slice of this and a slice of that."
To think how far women has come!
Reading The Engineers Wife, transported me to 1864 and the life of Emily Warren. I was mesmerized into her personality, marriage life and her struggles and strengths as a wife, mother and engineers wife. I'm pretty sure I discovered my first fiction man crush because author Tracey Wood brought Washington Boebling to life. The emotional and personal dialogue she created was like having a movie play in my head. Important themes and issues of women's only ability to bread children and clean, fashion limiting women's activities, voting rights, no friendship with men outside marriage, equality and education was all brought up. This book was made for book clubs since there is so many things you can discuss about the books layers and behind the scenes of the building of the Brooklyn bridge. You can tell Tracey did her research so much to the point where I found myself a bit lost or things went over my head. I found myself rereading paragraphs to try and understand the technical engineering behind the bridge. Overall she combined fact and fiction in a perfect unison to develop the incredible story to the construction of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge.

This historical fiction novel is about Emily Roebling, the wife of the lead engineer who built the Brooklyn Bridge. It begins at the end of the Civil War and details their marriage, his father and his designing the bridge, her husbands injuries, and her stepping into a larger role in the building of the bridge. If it sounds like it goes on forever, it does. It was a very interesting topic but included way too much detail. The storyline was engaging but the book itself rather boring.

Thank you to Netgalley for the free, advance copy.

I never knew I wanted to understand the building of expansive bridges until I read, "The Engineer's Wife." Wood's did a fantastic job of melding together historical facts and details of the bridge with the dramatic storyline involving Washington Roebling and his wife, Emily, as well as P.T. Barnum. Throughout the book I was continually reminded of the danger many of the men took on as they worked on such an innovative project. I'm always grateful when an author takes the time to help clarify fact from fiction in a historical fiction novel. For this reason, make sure not to skip the Afterword.

The Engineer’s Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood tells the fascinating story of Emily Warren Roebling–wife, mother, activist, and stand-in civil engineer.

Emily dreams of a life where women are equal to men, unburdened by fancy dresses and societal expectations. When she marries Washington ‘Wash’ Roebling, a former soldier and bridge builder, she knows she’s met someone who won’t confine her to the cage of a stay-at-home housewife.

As Wash sets out to build the Brooklyn Bridge, Emily becomes immersed in the process, making herself useful to the men at work. As time goes on, her husband’s health starts failing. Plagued with the mysterious caisson disease, Wash becomes infirm, unable to physically work on the bridge or complete basic tasks.

In steps Emily. She was made for this role. At first she becomes Wash’s messenger, running back and forth between the worksite and her home. Soon though, she needs Wash less and less and steps in–unofficially–as the civil engineer. In a time where women are looked down on for working, and impersonating a man is illegal, Emily rises above her trappings as a woman and helps build the iconic bridge that is still known and loved today.

I absolutely adored The Engineer’s Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood. I am a sucker for historical fiction, especially those that tell the story of real people. As I read The Engineer’s Wife, I regularly completed Google searches, fact-checking and learning on the side as I turned the pages.

What did I learn from the book? Emily Roebling was an amazingly strong, stunning woman who did not get the credit she deserved as the Brooklyn Bridge was built. To this day, Wash and his father get the majority of the credit, even though the project wouldn’t have been successfully completed without Emily’s years of work.

The only reason this book got four stars instead of five stars is because it was slow at times, but that did not dissuade me from continuing to read it. This beauty of a book is worthy of being read!

If you enjoy historical fiction, I highly, highly recommend you check out The Engineer’s Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood. It will captivate and astound you.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the Kindle version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I like the way that this book offers a woman in the early 1900’s the chance to be an equal. Without getting into too many spoilers, after the war Emily finds herself in love with Wash. They start their lives the same way any young couple might. Just trying to survive after the war, getting back to work, starting a family. But then it comes down to Emily being allowed to run a company for her husband. Of course there are many obstacles for a woman in that era, and Tracey captures those struggles well.